The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Is there any way to disable minimizing games when start is pressed on the keyboard?

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by tetutato, Feb 17, 2010.

  1. tetutato

    tetutato NBR Troll

    Reputations:
    296
    Messages:
    1,398
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I often press this button and i really don't like how some games minimize if you press it. Is there any way to disable this?
     
    tetutato, Feb 17, 2010
    #1
  2. jenesuispasbavard

    jenesuispasbavard Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    51
    Messages:
    412
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Some games have a 'Disable Alt-tab' feature, which may work, but I don't know how to do it in general.
     
    jenesuispasbavard, Feb 17, 2010
    #2
  3. Purlpo

    Purlpo Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    620
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Screwdriver.
     
    Purlpo, Feb 17, 2010
    #3
  4. Mortis

    Mortis Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    292
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    There is a start button on keyboards now O_O ?
     
    Mortis, Feb 17, 2010
    #4
  5. foosa123

    foosa123 adsfjldsajflkajsdfa

    Reputations:
    210
    Messages:
    1,784
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    i think he means the windows key lol
     
    foosa123, Feb 17, 2010
    #5
  6. jeffreyac

    jeffreyac Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    186
    Messages:
    454
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    See, I need this button. How else am I supposed to quickly minimize the games I'm playing in my cubicle on my laptop when my boss walks in unexpectedly?

    "Oh, hi boss! Yep, just working on this... um... spreadsheet here..."

    (had to quit playing Mass Effect because alt-tab didn't work on that one...)
     
    jeffreyac, Feb 17, 2010
    #6
  7. BobXX

    BobXX Newbie

    Reputations:
    132
    Messages:
    1,097
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Some keyboards, such as the Logitech gaming series, have manual switches to disable the Windows key. Others, such as the Microsoft keyboards, have a software option to disable the key. I don't know how you'd do this on a laptop keyboard though...

    And yes, it happens to me all the time too... :(
     
    BobXX, Feb 17, 2010
    #7
  8. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

    Reputations:
    3,833
    Messages:
    8,209
    Likes Received:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    206
    If your keyboard doesn't have a switch or anything to disable the key, you can always pop the cap off and put it back when you're done. :p
     
    Mastershroom, Feb 17, 2010
    #8
  9. tetutato

    tetutato NBR Troll

    Reputations:
    296
    Messages:
    1,398
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I ll see if my games have taht feature but does that disable the windows key too? or just alt-tab?
     
    tetutato, Feb 17, 2010
    #9
  10. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

    Reputations:
    3,833
    Messages:
    8,209
    Likes Received:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    206
    I have honestly never seen an option to disable Alt+Tab in any game I've ever played.
     
    Mastershroom, Feb 17, 2010
    #10
  11. TomTom2007

    TomTom2007 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    519
    Messages:
    928
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    TomTom2007, Feb 17, 2010
    #11
  12. BobXX

    BobXX Newbie

    Reputations:
    132
    Messages:
    1,097
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    But does that work with Vista?

    I really wish there was a simple program you could open which disabled the button rather than having to edit the registry.
     
    BobXX, Feb 17, 2010
    #12
  13. TomTom2007

    TomTom2007 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    519
    Messages:
    928
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I think it only works in XP or older OS.

    There is one program that is specifically designed for gaming/full screen operations, it's called "I Hate This Key Deluxe Edition", but it's not free, you can try for 30 days:

    http://www.bytegems.com/ihatethiskeydeluxe.shtml

    There are however many keyboard remapping/scripting programs that allow you to disable individual keyboard keys, such as the Start Windows key, try:

    KeyTweak:
    http://webpages.charter.net/krumsick/

    AutoHotKey:
    http://www.autohotkey.com/
     
    TomTom2007, Feb 17, 2010
    #13